icon!

here's our latest PADS recruit...8 week old icon. she's a purebred golden retriever, born dec. 24.

nugget - final update

well, i got the phone call today. nugget's instructor called to tell me that he's being released from the PADS program. after 2 successful weeks of assessment, nugget was on a field trip to 8 rinks that sealed his fate. from a distance he saw a backpack and went absolutely nuts...growling, barking and lunging at the bag. ok, once could just be a coincidence. but they continued on the journey and a man wearing a toque approached nugget to say hi, and nugget reacted the same way...growling and barking. so that officially ended his career as a potential service dog. he isn't really suitable for a drug-sniffing dog either because he doesn't have that "go" drive...he's more laidback. who knew ;-)

chris and i were asked if we'd like to adopt nugget for our own pet. as much as we love nugget and want to watch him grow up, we just don't have the space or time available to dedicate to him. also, with us getting another PADS puppy tomorrow we definitely don't have room for 2 dogs! so, the next best people are being offered nugget...his sister diamond's puppyraisers expressed interest awhile back. and since diamond was released as a VIP on the variety show on sunday, i know that having a dog from the mineral litter would please them to no end! hopefully it works out with them...fingers crossed!

and so our adventure with nugget has come to its official conclusion. he was the last of the mineral litter and he made it further than his siblings. and because he was the first "puppy" we raised, he'll always have a special place in our hearts. enjoy the pet life, nunu!

a tribute to nugget

after a full week back at PADS, i'm pleased to hear that nugget is still in the program! he's become friends with corr, a fellow yellow labrador retriever, and he has 2 more days of assessment this week. once he completes that, he'll be partnered with margaret, one of the advanced trainers. they have noticed a barking behaviour from my boy, but they're hoping to work through that with him during the first semester. how cute is that?! just like regular school :-) my boy's growing up!

here he is at 4 months:

at 8 months:

10+ months:

my handsome boy!

more goodbye's

what an exhausting week. after giving the eulogy at my grandma's memorial service, i was completely drained. i think chris, nugget and i fell asleep for a good 2-3 hours late that afternoon. we had a very low-key weekend with absolutely nothing planned, which was quite peaceful.

now that we've said goodbye to grandma, we're now getting ready to say goodbye to nugget. 6 months ago when we signed up to raise him, we knew this day would come but it still caught us off guard. it feels too soon to say goodbye, and i just can't bring myself to say goodbye to him yet. as i write this, chris is watching tv and nugget is curled up in his lap. it's so sweet :-) i know everyone who's raised one of the halloween or mineral litter puppies has grown fond of their dogs and tuesday's going to be a very sad day indeed.

just one note: out of the mineral litter (jade, ruby, diamond and coal), nugget is the last remaining puppy. jade and coal were released as pets but ruby and diamond were VIP's through the variety club. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that our boy pulls off some magic this week during his assessment, but i'm also a realist...his preydrive instinct is pretty strong...we'll just have to wait and see what happens. i'm going to put together a photo montage of our highlights w/nugget. so many pictures to go through!

on a slightly happier note, faedra's golden retriever puppies will be arriving at PADS in mid-february, so my monday night cuddles will be resuming...can't wait! and perhaps i'll even get to keep one of them...we'll see! i've also heard through the grapevine that 2-3 other labradors are pregnant, bringing even more puppies into PADS this spring. so exciting!